“The Agency continues to closely follow the DPRK (North Korea) nuclear issue”.
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The fifth nuclear test by North Korea – second this year – is bound to trigger anxiety and concern to its neighbour and adversary South Korea.
South Korea’s main spy agency told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing after the test that it does not think Pyongyang now has the ability to develop miniaturized nuclear weapons that can be mounted on ballistic missiles, but intelligence officials expressed worries that the North’s efforts to do so are progressing quicker than previously thought, said Kim Byungkee, a lawmaker from the opposition Minjoo Party.
(Vatican Radio) North Korea confirmed on Friday it tested a fifth nuclear device in defiance of a United Nations resolution.
“It’s hard for us to verify their claim”.
“We are still in the preliminary stages but our analysts believe they tested a basic nuclear device not an advanced device”, she said.
US President Barack Obama said on Friday that any provocative actions by North Korea would have “serious consequences” after the reclusive North confirmed it had conducted its fifth nuclear test.
The global community imposed strict sanctions after the last nuclear test in January.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest says that Obama talked to Park and Abe on the phone, and “reiterated the unbreakable US commitment to the security of America’s allies in Asia and around the world”.
An explosion with a magnitude of 5.3 was detected in North Korea at 9 a.m. on Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The blast had the explosive power of 10 kilotons, nearly twice as large as the previous test, said Kim Nam-wook of South Korea’s Meteorological Administration. The KCNA says that DPRK scientists have been able to increase the explosive power and control level of the bomb compared with the first test.
The Foreign Ministry issued a statement Friday criticizing North Korea for carrying out a test with “disregard” for global objections. It took place just ENE of Sungjibaegam, in the region of a known nuclear test site.
“It’s pretty incredible that we’ve come this far since the first nuclear crisis back in 1994”, says Hahm Chaibong, head of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, a Seoul-based independent think tank.
Right after announcing its test, the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency once again made that argument.
Beijing also condemned the test and called for a resumption of the long-stalled six-party talks aimed at ending Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test earlier this year, part of its push for a nuclear-armed missile that could one day reach the US mainland.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described it as “intolerable” along with the series of ballistic missile launches and the fourth nuclear test in January. The statement said China “resolutely opposes” the test and called on North Korea to stop any behavior that “worsens the situation”.
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Ms Park, who’s cutting short an overseas visit, said the test was a “dangerous challenge” to the global community that would “just earn more sanctions and isolation” for North Korea.
